The Unknown
Release date: 1927-05-29
Votes: 199
Genres: Drama, Romance, Horror
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder – a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Joan Crawford is the dazzling "Manon", daughter of a circus owner and keenly sought by strongman "Malabar" (Norman Kerry) and the newly arrived arm-less knife thrower "Alonzo" (Lon Chaney). It's the latter man who has a bit of a secret though, and as the story progresses we realise that he's a criminal using a clever (if not desperately plausible) disguise to stay one head ahead of the pursuing police. She, meantime, is fed up being pawed and ogled at by men in general and "Alonzo" - being unable to touch her, plays on that increasing phobia hoping she will choose him. Her father "Zanzi" (Nick De Ruiz) violently comes a cropper suddenly and his daughter sees the crime, not the criminal. Distraught, she turns to "Malabar" whilst "Alonzo" decides that he must now make a pretty significant sacrifice if he is to get the girl and avoid the noose. I did really quite enjoy this. The expressive Chaney is on super form as the menacing knifester and there is plenty of meat on the bones of a plot that creates a few characters about whom you could actually care. The denouement with the strongman and horses is maybe a little strung out, but it's still a fitting end to a love triangle that dwells little on slushy sentiment and more on the nastiness of the scheming antagonist and his sidekick "Cojo" (John George). Crawford certainly comes across as a woman they'd want to fight over, too!
Movie Recommendation
He Who Gets Slapped1924-12-22After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.More...
Sudden Fear1952-08-07Actor Lester Blaine has all but landed the lead in Myra Hudson's new play when Myra vetoes him because, to her, he doesn't look like a romantic leading man. On a train from New York to San Francisco, Blaine sets out to prove Myra wrong...by romancing her. Is he sincere, or does he have a dark ulterior motive?More...
Center Stage1991-11-29Based on the tragic true story of China's first prima donna of the silver screen, Ruan Lingyu, chronicling her rise to fame as a movie actress in Shanghai during the 1930s.More...
Lonesome1928-06-20Two lonely people in the big city meet and enjoy the thrills of an amusement park, only to lose each other in the crowd after spending a great day together. Will they ever see each other again?More...
Dance, Fools, Dance1931-02-07When misfortune hits hard on the Jordan family of Chicago's upper class, Bonnie Jordan, a dazzling and witty girl, finds a job as an aspiring reporter; however, his naive younger brother Rodney takes a twisted path and gets involved with the wrong people.More...
The King of Kings1927-04-19The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and the great showman’s singular cinematic bag of tricks, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent—part Gospel, part Technicolor epic.More...
The Three-Sided Mirror1927-11-22A wealthy young businessman consecutively falls in love with a classy English woman (Pearl), a Russian sculptress (Athalia), and a naive working-class girl (Lucie).More...
London After Midnight1927-12-03The abandoned Balfour House, the owner of which was found dead five years earlier, comes back to life with the arrival of two suspicious sinister-looking tenants. This film was lost in the 1965 MGM vault fire; only a few stills exist.More...
Our Dancing Daughters1928-09-01A flapper who's secretly a good girl and a gold-digging floozy masquerading as an ingénue both vie for the hand of a millionaire.More...
Our Modern Maidens1929-09-08Young, vivacious Billie uses her charms on influential businessman Glenn Abbott in hopes of getting her secret fiancé Gil a diplomatic appointment. Meanwhile, Gil's affections meander to beautiful ingenue Kentucky, Billie's best friend.More...
Sally, Irene and Mary1925-12-27The three are showgirls, each with a different approach to life and love.More...
The Jazz Singer1927-10-06A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.More...
Steamboat Bill, Jr.1928-05-09The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.More...
Johnny Guitar1954-05-26On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.More...
Maniac Cop1988-05-13Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered.More...
French Fried Vacation 21979-11-22In this sequel to Les Bronzes (1978) summer has passed, but that doesn't mean the fun has to end for Bernard, Nathalie, Gigi, Jerome, Popeye, Jean-Claude, and Christiane.More...
The Little Vampire2000-10-27Based on the popular books, the story tells of Tony who wants a friend to add some adventure to his life. What he gets is Rudolph, a vampire kid with a good appetite. The two end up inseparable, but their fun is cut short when all the hopes of the vampire race could be gone forever in single night. With Tony's access to the daytime world, he helps them to find what they've always wanted.More...
His Girl Friday1940-01-18Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.More...
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage1970-02-27An American writer living in Rome witnesses an attempted murder that is connected to an ongoing killing spree in the city and conducts his own investigation, despite he and his girlfriend being targeted by the killer.More...
The Holy Mountain1973-11-29The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.More...
Similar Movies
The Adventures of Pri...
1926-09-03Taken from The Arabian Nights, a wicked sorcerer and the beautiful prince Achmed battle one against the other during a series of wondrous adventures.Cyborg She
2008-05-31A lonely university student develops a romance with a beautiful interesting woman, who turns out to be a cyborg from the future.I'll Never Forget the...
2017-10-01A movie that portrays a reflection about sense of being self, to love and to be loved.À la vie à l'amor
2022-09-09Following a hard break up, Cesar feels nothing. On the day of his 30th birthday, he asks one thing and one thing only, from the people he meets: their testimonial on unconditional love in front of his camera. Throughout his interviews the young artist tries to understand a question that haunts him: how to love?Le Divorce
2003-08-08While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.Sidestroke
1993-12-22Clara (Karin Viard) is a stripper with a high-strung, jealous boyfriend with the curious name of Loockeed (Antoine Chappey). The couple are friends with the even-temperred, almost saintly Max (Gerald Laroche), an auto mechanic. The three of them set out from their home in the north to journey to the Alpine mountains near Switzerland and Italy, where they will help a fourth friend take care of his pleasure boat business at Lake Annecy while he is in military service. As the trio attempt to establish some sort of equilibrium in their new lives, Max must constantly deal with Loockeed's testy, jealous barbs. Despite this, the three of them remain friends.Koi Aap Sa
2005-10-14An emotional Mumbai-based football player, Rohan (Shivdasani), seeks the assistance of childhood friend, Simran (Reddy), to successfully woo fellow-collegian, Preeti (Sharma). Simran herself is about to be engaged to U.S-based Vicky (Malik). After the engagement ceremony, Vicky returns back to the U.S - not realising that back in India nothing is the same anymore...The Girl
1965-05-07A lyrical fourfold perspective on WWII through the eyes of a young partisan couple, a town photographer and a German officer.The Autumn of Pride
1921-07-01A man buys a farm to stop his rich father from evicting the farmer's daughter.Love Station
2011-12-08Single coworkers at a radio station are brought together by mutual friends, but their starry-eyed notions about love may scuttle their romance.Heaven
2002-02-06Cate Blanchett stars as Philippa, a British teacher living in Turin, Italy, who has seen many friends, including her husband, fall victim to drug overdoses. Philippa has repeatedly contacted the police with information about Turin's biggest drug dealer but, complicit in his dealings, they have completely ignored her. So Philippa decides to dole out her own form of justice with a homemade bomb -- setting her off on a journey from young widow to fugitive on the run.Tell No One
2006-11-01A man receives a mysterious e-mail appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death.Savage Grace
2007-05-18This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.The Golem
1915-01-15This mostly lost film is often confused with director Paul Wegener third and readily available interpretation of the legend; Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920). In this version of the golem legend, the golem, a clay statue brought to life by Rabbi Loew in 16th century Prague to save the Jews from the ongoing brutal persecution by the city's rulers, is found in the rubble of an old synagogue in the 20th century. Brought to life by an antique dealer, the golem is used as a menial servant. Eventually falling in love with the dealer's wife, it goes on a murderous rampage when its love for her goes unanswered.Faust
1926-10-13God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.The Clearing
2004-07-02When affluent executive Wayne Hayes is kidnapped by a disgruntled employee and held for ransom in a forest, Wayne’s wife is forced to reckon with the FBI agents as they negotiate with the kidnapper.Recess
1964-01-01Karin, a young girl, gets an hour free from school. She spends it across the street from the school, in the apartment of an older photographer.After Everything
2018-10-12When Elliot, a brash 23-year-old living carefree in New York City, meets the sensible Mia and receives a damning diagnosis all in the same week, his world is turned completely upside down. But as their love blossoms amidst the chaos of his treatment, they discover that Elliot's illness is not the real test of their relationship – it's everything else.Autumn in New York
2000-08-11Will Keane, a Manhattan restaurateur, is content with his playboy lifestyle until he meets Charlotte Fielding, a free-spirited young woman. Together the pair pursue a passionate affair that forces them both to reevaluate what they want out of life, even as fate threatens to steal away their future.Israfil
2017-02-06When Mahi's son dies in a car accident, Behrouz who has returned to Iran to sell his properties, attends the funeral. Their old romance catches up while Behrouz has planned to marry Sara and go back to Canada with her.